Blogs You Should Read

Cate grew up two blocks from me in Grammaland. We've known each other forever. I think we became friends in the sixth or seventh grade.

Our hometown was, and remains, the epitome of a Midwestern town. There's a small university, a nearby "real" city, everyone knows everyone... Often I'd do something stupid and be in trouble before I even got home, because Mom heard about it from a friend of hers, or worse, one of my uncles!

Cate marched to the beat of her own drummer, which is something I've always loved about her. Over the years, between graduation and when the magic of Facebook put us back in touch with one another, I imagined a lot of futures for her - perhaps working in the Peace Corps digging latrines in Africa, or in South America saving the rain forests. I was never creative enough to predict her actual future - married to a Yup'ik Eskimo and living in Hooper Bay, Alaska, but that's exactly what happened. (I can't resist the joke - Cate, can you see Russia from your house?)

Her blog is here, and you really should read it. Her baby just got baptized in seal blubber, which is apparently a tribal ritual. If that's not damn fascinating, and a far cry from Small Town, Indiana, U.S.A., well, I don't know what is.

She eats seal intestine soup, you guys. Cate is hard core, and incredibly interesting. Plus, she's smart and funny and has a heart as big as, well, as Alaska.

I've said many times, that BJ and I are blessed with the most interesting, diverse group of friends ever assembled. I wish they all had blogs, but unfortunately most of them don't. However, Cate does, and you should totally read it. And as my other fascinating friends adopt modern technology, I promise to point you in their directions, too.